Cabbage Moon

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

``Imagine a rabbit not liking cabbage!'' But, much to his mother's chagrin, Albert just doesn't. This tiny bunny with amusingly oversize ears is too full of questions to worry about filling his stomach. He spends his time ``wondering why the sky was blue and why carrots were orange, and other important things.'' One night at bedtime, Albert ponders how the moon can change its shape if (as his parents have told him) it is made of rock and sand. The curious rabbit then finds himself floating through the air toward the moon--which is an enormous cabbage. ``Follow me. We have work to do,'' bids a plump rabbit, who leads Albert to a handful of other rabbits busily devouring the cabbage moon. Joining in, Albert discovers he likes cabbage after all, and helps with the task at hand: munching the moon into a perfect crescent. This accomplished, the sated bunnies jump onto a moonbeam and slide down to earth and into their beds. Enhancing the tale's perky humor are Harper's fanciful, full-page pictures. The accomplished artist adds some decidedly creative twists, including a generous sampling of carrots used as slippers, faucets, flower pots and table legs. Kids will eat this one up. Ages 4-7. (Mar.)

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 1-Move over, green cheese theorists-this British import suggests a new lunar substance. Albert is always far too busy asking questions to eat his cabbage. One night, he focuses his curiosity skyward, and suddenly is taken to the moon via a beam of light. To his amazement, he discovers that the moon is actually a giant cabbage. Plump, a portly rabbit, instructs Albert to join a group of bunnies who are munching away at it. When he determines that they've eaten enough, the bunnies are off to bed-except Albert, who has some questions. Plump explains that the full moon becomes a crescent through ``good appetites and accurate measurement.'' After sliding down the moonbeam to his snug bed, Albert admires the fading celestial body and shocks his mother by eating every cabbage leaf on his plate. Harper's art features endearing, yet not overly cute, bunnies, and many winsome details. For example, the architecture makes ample use of carrots. A charming addition to the many stories that capture toddler fascination with the moon, particularly when combined with Martin Waddell's Can't You Sleep, Little Bear? (Candlewick, 1992) or any of Frank Asch's stories about the moon.-Lisa S. Murphy, formerly at Dauphin County Library System, Harrisburg, PA

Deborah Abbott

For children who wonder (and most do) why and how the Moon changes shape, this book offers an enterprising answer. One night, Albert, a small, curious, cabbage-hating bunny, snug in his bed while pondering the Moon, is suddenly drawn up into space. He lands on the Moon, which is not a pile of rocks and sand, as he has been led to believe, but is, instead, a huge, round, green cabbage. Many other rabbits are there, with a director rabbit orchestrating the munching of the cabbage. When Albert states his dislike for the vegetable, the head hare tells him to try it. To his surprise, Albert finds it delicious and feasts happily until the rabbit in charge announces, after careful measurement, that the night's work is complete. The rabbits return to Earth and their beds. The next day, Albert's mother is amazed when Albert devours all his cabbage. Imported from England, this book sports bright color illustrations, complete with multicolored rabbits, deep-blue skies speckled with large gold stars, and a carrot-studded bed quilt, all of which enhance the humor of the lighthearted story.